Closure for car doors and the like



July 30, 1963 J. E. TALBOT ETAL CLOSURE FOR CAR DOORS AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 20, 1961 J- E. TALBOT ET AL CLOSURE FOR CAR DOORS AND THE LIKE July 30, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 20, 1961 1 I l L Ute The present invention relates to a closure panel adapted to be temporarily secured across a door opening of a railway freight car or the like to prevent the contents of the car from shifting or moving into contact with the regular sliding door of the car. More particularly, the invention relates to what has become known as a grain door for preventing escape of material shipped in bulk form in railway freight cars and to closure panels or retaining strips for commodities shipped in bags, cartons, boxes and the like.

Railway'car grain doors now in common use generally comprise a heavy kraft paper or corrugated paper panel to one side of which is allixed a plurality of steel bands or straps. The steel bands are provided with longitudinally spaced holes whereby the panel may be secured across the door opening by means of nails driven through the straps and into the side frame members of the door. The grain door is erected from inside the carlwith thepaper panel facing inwardly so that the straps prevent the paper panel from bowing outwardly under the thrust of the load of grain or other bulk material. Since the paper thus hides the straps from the person erecting the panel there have been various schemes for temporarily exposing the straps during the nailing operation but these schemes have generally added considerably to the cost of the panel. Because of the Weight of the steel straps, the grain door is frequently made in sections so that One man will be able to lift it and hold it in position while driving the nails.

The so-called retainer strips are somewhat different from the grain door in that the complete strip is usually made in two parts, one of which is secured to one of the side frame members of the car door and the other to the opposite frame member. These strips also comprise a flexible panel having one or more steel straps affixed to one side and during loading of the car the two opposed portions of the retainer are folded back against the outside of the car. When the car is fully loaded, the opposed portions of the retainers are swung across the door opening so that they overlap one another and the aligned steel bands of the two portions are secured together by means of a suitable seal. The various arrangements heretofore proposed for attaching the steel bands to the panels so that the overlapping ends thereof may be secured together have been somewhat cumbersome and have added substantially to the cost of the strips.

Recently there has been developed a non-metallic strap in the form of a weftless tape made by securing a plurality of high tenacity rayon tire cords together side by side. This new strap is very much lighter in weight than comparable strength steel strap. It is also much more flexible than steel strap and the cords of the strap are bound to one another by a heat-scalable composition which makes it possible to heat-seal the strap to paper or other fabric. Also, unlike steel strap, this so-called cord strapping can be readily glued to paper. These characteristics of the cord strapping make it ideally suited for use as reinforcing members for paper panels and the present invention contemplates the use of this type of strapping in a car door closure structure.

It is an object of this invention to provide a grain door or like railway car door closure which is light in weight and inexpensive to manufacture.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a 3,099,314 Patented July 30, 1963 closure for car doors and the like which may conveniently and quickly be erected by one man.

Other objects and advantages of the invention as well as the details of construction will become apparent as the description of certain embodiments thereof proceeds.

Referring now to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a load retaining or gain door constructed in accordance with the in-' vention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing the grain door erected across the door opening of a railway car or the like;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIGURE 2 and showing the manner in which the temporary door is secured to one of the side frame members of the car door;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of one of the members of a two-piece retainer strip incorporating the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view showing a two-piece retainer strip in position across a car door;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view of a one-piece retainer strip;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view showing the retainer strip of FIGURE 6 as initially mounted across a car door; and

FIGURE 8 is a plan view showing the retainer strip of FIGURE 6 in the process of final sealing.

Referring first to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the closure member comprises a panel 10 having secured thereto a plurality of non-metallic straps 11 preferably the weftless type of cord strapping previously referred to. As shown in FIGURE 3, panel 10 preferably comprises a corrugated inner core .12 having first and second paper liner sheets 13 and 14 bonded to opposite sides thereof. Straps .11 may be secured either to the outer face of the first liner sheet 13, as shown in the drawing, or said straps may be located between liner 13 and the corrugated core 12. During manufacture of the corrugated paper, the corrugations extend transversely of the movement of the three sheets and desirably straps *11 are fed along with liner 13 during the manufacture of the corrugated paper, thus the straps extend transversely of the corrugations. In the normal operation of manufacturing corrugated paper, the paper is heated to a substantial degree and this will usually be suflicient to cause the straps to become heat-sealed to the paper. However, if the strap is of the type which is not readily heat-scalable, ordinary glue may be used to adhere the strap to the paper. In the finished product, straps 11 are coextensive with the width of the panel and this is accomplished by transversely cutting the running corrugated sheet so as to form panels of a width somewhat greater than that of the door opening with which the panel is to be used.

About four inches in from each side edge, the panel is crushed or scored along lines indicated at 1'5 and 16 to provide fold lines and define vertically extending side flaps .17 and .18. Flaps 17 and 18 are actually parts of the overall panel 10 and the straps extend to the outer edges of the flaps. The panel .11 is also crushed or scored to provide a fold line 19 near the bottom thereof and a fold line 20 near the top thereof. The panel is slit along the fold line 19 from the side edges inwardly to the vertically extending fold lines 15 and '16, said slits being indicated at 211 and 22.

In FIGURES 2 and 3, one side or wall of a railway freight car or the like is indicated at 23 and the floor of the car at 24. Wall 23 has a door opening defined by vertically disposed wooden frame members 25 and 26. When the closure member is to be erected, it is placed across the door opening with the paper liner 13 facing the outside of the car and with the snaps extending horizontally across the door opening. The flutes of the corrugated core .13 thus extend vertically as shown in FIGURE 3. The panel is then folded along line 19 so as to provide a bottom flap 27 resting against the floor of the car. Flap 27 may be secured to the floor of the car by staples 28 or in some instances the weight of the load in the car may be relied upon to hold said flap in engagement with the floor. iFold lines and 16 are spaced apart substantially the distance between the vertical center lines of the door frame members and 26, and the panel is secured to the frame members by strap spanning staples one of which is indicated at 29 in H6- URE 3, which are driven through the corrugated paper and into the wooden door frame members. At the time of this operation, straps 11 are, of course, hidden from view and so that the operator will know where to position the staples so that they will span the straps, indicia in the form of lines Sil are printed on the liner sheet 14. Lines are spaced slightly farther apart than the width of the strap and indicate the locations of the straps. Indicia 30 need not extend entirely across the panel but are located adjacent the fold lines .15 and 16. Staples 29 are driven through the panel just inside of fold lines 15 and 16; and after a staple has been driven to span each of the straps, the side flaps 17 and 18 are folded over and a second strap spanning staple 31 is driven through the inwardly folded flaps, the main body portion of the panel and into the respective frame member 25 and 26. As shown in FIGURE 3, this arrangement of the staples snubs the straps firmly about the initial line of staples 29 and the folded edge of the panel. For the best snubbing action staples 3-1 should be located fairly close to staples 29. The slits 21 and 22 facilitate the inward folding of flaps 17 and 18 and after the major portions of said flaps have been stapled to the door frame members the bottom portions thereof, which are integral with bottom flap 27 but separated therefrom by the fold lines 15 and 1-6, are folded over so as to lie against the upper portion of flap 27 and may be stapled to the floor of the car as shown in FIGURE 2. If desired, a brace 32 may be secured to the door frame members across the upper portion of the panel and the upper portion folded along line 20 and stapled to said brace.

Because of the light weight of the non-metallic straps 11, the panel may be easily handled and erected by one man even when the single panel extends the full height of the closure. This, of course, provides a considerably tighter and more leak-proof arrangement than is obtained when the closure is so heavy that it has to be made in sections in order for one man to be able to erect it.

FIGURES 4 and 5 illustrate the invention embodied in a two-piece retainer strip for use when the railway car .is to be loaded with bags, cartons, boxes or other individual packages or articles. One of the pieces or parts of the retainer is shown in FIGURE 4 and comprises a corrugated paper panel 33 to one side of which is affixed ta non-metallic strap 34 of the type referred to above. While at times, itmay be desirable to provide a plurality of straps extending lengthwise of the panel, it is preferable to employ a single strap extending along the longitudinal center line of a relatively narrow panel member. With this arrangement, the complete retainer strips may conveniently be secured across the car door with small or large vertical spacing best suited to retain the particular contents of the car. Panel 33 has a fold line 35 located inwardly from one edge thereof so as to provide a side flap 36. Strap 34 is coextensive with the width of the panel including the side flap 36 and on the side of the panel opposite said strap indicia 37 in the form of printed lines are provided for indicating the location of the strap.

Panel 33' is secured to the inside of one of the car door frame members indicated in FIGURE 5 at 38. The staples are not shown in FIGURE 5, but it is sufficient to note that the attachment of panel 33 to the door frame member 38 is similar to that previously described in connection with grain door 10. As mentioned, the complete retainer strip comprises two separate pieces, and in FIGURE 5 one of the pieces is the panel 33 and the other is an identical panel 39 having a strap 40 extending thereacross. Panels 33 and 39 are secured to their respective frame members in such a manner that the straps 34 and 48 are aligned with one another, and the two panels overlap one another when the strip is in \load retaining position. After the two sections of the retainer strip are secured to their respective door frames, they may be folded outwardly of the car; and the free ends thereof temporarily attached to the outside .of the car, thus enabling the packaged commodities to be moved into the car through the door opening. After the car is loaded, the two sections of the retainer strip are moved across the door opening so that they overlap near the center of the opening as shown in the drawing. Prior to thus positioning the panels, however, the ends of the straps adjacent the free ends of the panel sections are pulled away from the paper and when the panel sections are closed, the adjacent ends of the aligned straps are pulled tightly together and secured to one another by means of a suitable seal 41. In the case of the retainer strips, it is preferable to have the straps located on an outer face of the corrugated paper to facilitate the detachment of the ends of the straps when the two sections of the retainer are to be joined together. This is in contrast to the grain door where, as mentioned, the straps may be located either on an outer face of the corrugated paper or between the plies thereof.

FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 illustrate the invention embodied in a one-piece retainer strip comprising a corrugated paper panel 42 having a non-mteallic strap 43 secured to one face thereof and coextensive in length therewith. Fold lines 44 and 45 provide foldable flaps 46 and 47 at the ends of the panel whereby it may be erected across a car door in the manner previously explained in connection with grain door 10'. Indicia 48 in the vicinity of fold lines 44 and 45 indicate the location of the strap on the opposite side of the panel and facilitate the proper placement of the strap spanning staples.

Panel 42 is longer than the distance between the side frames of the car door with which it is to be used and intermediate the two ends. Said panel is provided with score lines facilitating the folding thereof so that after one side is secured to one of the frame members, the panel maybe deformed or foreshortened to locate the other side in proper alignment with the other door frame member. One method of facilitating this foreshortening of the panel consists in crushing or scoring the panel along lines indicated at 49, 50 and 51 so that it will readily fold outwardly along lines 49 and 51 and inwardly along line 50, thus providing a V-shaped portion extending outwardly of the car midway between the door frames as indicated in FIGURE 7. When both sides of the one-piece retainer have been secured to the door frames, the panel and the strap are out along line 50. This may readily be accomplished with an ordinary pocket knife since the strap 43 is formed of rayon tire cords or the like, as previously indicated. After cutting, the two halves of the retainer strip may be folded outwardly and the free ends temporarily secured to the outside of the car to facilitate loading. After loading, the two halves are returned to the position shown in FIGURE 8 and because of outwardly directed flaps between fold lines 49 and 51 and the line along which the panel was cut, the two halves overlap one another. Strap 43 is then peeled back from the overlapping portions of the panel and the two free ends thereof are drawn tightly together and secured by a suitable seal as described in connection with the two-piece retainer strip. FIGURE 8 shows the strap halves pulled partly away from the corrugated paper before the tightening and sealing operation.

Both the two-piece and one-piece retainer strip are manufactured in a similar manner to the grain door. That is to say, the strap or straps are fed through the corrugated paper making machine along with one of the outer liners of the paper so that the strap thus extends transversely of the corrugations. In fact, normally the initial application of the straps to the corrugated paper is the same whether the final product is to be a retainer strip or a grain door and the relatively narrow retainer strips are cut from an initially Wide sheet having spaced straps extending lengthwise thereof.

Having thus described certain preferred embodiments of the invention, what is claimed is:

In a freight vehicle having vertically disposed frame members defining a door opening, a temporary retaining panel abutting said frame members on the inside of the vehicle, said panel being wider than the distance between said frame members, said panel comprising a corrugated inner \core having vertically extending flutes, first and second paper liners bonded respectively to opposite sides of said core, said first liner facing the outside of the door opening and said second liner facing the inside of the vehicle, a plurality of horizontally extending flexible non-metallic straps secured to the outer face of said first liner, indicia on the outer face of said second liner aligned with said straps and indicating the location of the straps, said straps being coextensive with the width of said panel, said panel being scored vertically to define fold lines aligned with the frame members, staples extending through said panel in juxtaposition with said fold lines and into the frame members, each of said staples passing through said indicia and spanning one of said straps, said staples being located toward the center of the door opening from the fold lines, said panel being folded inwardly along said fold lines so as to overlie said staples, and other staples extending through the folded-over portions of said panel and into said frame members, each of said other staples spanning one of said straps.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,659,432 Lau Nov. 17, 1953 2,689,608 Suess Sept. 21, 1954 2,794,761 Williamson June 4, 1957 2,915,116 Ford Dec. 1, 1959 

